Scharffen Berger - 82% Cacao Extra Dark Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 7, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Scharffen Berger 
82% Cacao Extra Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $5.19 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Dark Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's 82% Cacao Extra Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker (Ashland, OR). 

Aroma notes included: relatively sweet dark chocolate (cocoa/drinking chocolate with very faint vanilla), and very faint green botanical and fruit.

The texture was smooth but with an astringency (graininess/dryness) toward (and extending well) into the finish.

Flavor notes included: relatively bold dark chocolate (in keeping with an 82% cacao dark chocolate), very faint, diffuse fruit (red berry and citrus syrup/drink), and faint bitter earth. A very subtle amount of vanilla added a sense of sweet cocoa warmth.

Ingredients: "Cacao Beans, Sugar, Vanilla Bean."

Allergen-related information: "Produced in a facility that processes tree nuts and dairy."

 

Hu Products - Simple Dark Chocolate Organic 70% Cacao (bar) + Peter Beier dark confections - Sept. 6, 2023

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Hu Products LLC

Simple Dark Organic 70% Cacao (bar)

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar

Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Peter Beier
Dark Chocolate Caramel, Ginger and Egg Spice
Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) in 3 different, filled chocolates
Calories: 186 calories (estimate) in 3 chocolates
Cost: 33,66 Danish Krone ($4.84 USD) for 3 pieces
Purchased from: Peter Beier (shop), Copenhagen, Denmark

Welcome to Day #5 of Dark Chocolate Theme Week.

Hu Simple Dark Chocolate

Today's Simple Dark Chocolate Organic 70% Cacao (bar) was made in Italy and distributed by Hu Products LLC (Austin, TX). Hu company founders have sought to "unite Ultrasimple (tm) ingredients with unbeatable taste."

Simple and high-quality is how I like my dark chocolate. My favorite bars have only two, maybe three, ingredients: cocoa bean solids and cocoa butter, and a sweetener. 

Additional ingredients can muddle flavors or can contain too much of something that you don't really want or need. (Too much sugar or vanilla can drown out subtle cacao flavors, and added "natural flavors" don't usually improve a chocolate's taste.) So, hats off to Hu and other companies who have taken this back-to-the-basics path.

Aroma notes for this dark chocolate included: dark chocolate, faint brown/coconut sugar, and very faint fruit (red berry jelly) and nut (almond).

This relatively thick bar had a relatively hearty texture with smooth consistency and a barely there stone-ground like granularity and flavor. (Stone ground and/or less ground/processed cacao can have more intact flavors.)

Flavor notes included: rich smooth cocoa/sweet drinking chocolate with relatively low bitterness and acidity; very faint nut (almond, cashew) and fruit (diffuse, sweet red fruit).

This 70% dark chocolate was uniform and well-balanced and made with a simple list of Organic and Fairtrade ingredients. The company used no lecithin emulsifiers (thank you), no processed cane sugar (or artificial sweeteners -- thank you), and no dairy or soy. Simple pleasures.

Peter Beier (Denmark)

Note: I also enjoyed three dark chocolate confections (filled chocolates: caramel, ginger and egg spice) from a Peter Beier shop (in Copenhagen, Denmark) later this evening.

Ingredients: Organic cacao*, organic unrefined coconut sugar, organic cocoa butter* (*Certified Fairtrade ingredients)

Allergen-related information: "Contains coconut. May contain almond, cashew, hazelnut, pistachio, & dairy. Allergen cleans made prior to production, but beware that product is produced using equipment that also processes tree nuts, soy, dairy, & wheat."